October 15, 2008

Shame on Sony

MAXCONSOLE – Playstation 3 – Report: Why Can’t I Play My Friends In Iraq/Afghanistan On The PS3?
A writer over at Sony Insider is asking Sony why he cannot play PS3 games over the PSN with his friends who are serving abroad the United States military. According to the report: If you have a friend who lives in a different country, then its likely you will not be able to add them as a friend on your PS3. The reason why is that if you register your PS3 in a specific country, your Playstation Network is limited to that region. So, if my friend from the United States registers his/her Playstation 3 while they are on tour in Iraq/Afghanistan, then I will never be able to add them as long as I’m a US resident. The writer says it is time Sony removed the restrictions of the Playstation Network and made it truly global.

Arbitrary territorial restrictions in videogames has always been annoying. In this case, when gamers cannot even play against gamers in other countries, it’s hampering opportunities for social cohesion across borders and adding insult to injury for our troops.

(What is online gaming if I can’t play against my friend in South Africa, huh? Huh? … I should note that the PlayStation Network is the first time I’ve ever heard of a “stick to your own borders” scheme for an online game platform… other than Phantasy Star Online for the original Xbox, but nobody played that port anyway.)